Thiel is no longer Thiel. After Kathy and Dawn sold Thiel to an investment group, the brand no longer represents what we would think of as high-end and certainly not what we would think of as Thiel. There are other good examples as well, going in both directions: for better and for worse.
A brand means something. It represents a picture in people's minds and companies spend years nurturing and growing those brands.
You wouldn't go into a McDonalds expecting a three course meal on a plate, nor would you go into a fancy restaurant and expect a burger delivered in 30 seconds or less.
Toyota represents high value, lower cost cars. When they wanted to sell a high priced Toyota they wisely realized no one would be interested and created another brand, Lexus. Same idea, different brand.
Brands can move over time. PS Audio only made audio equipment; now we make audio and power equipment. But we've always stuck with our core principals of high-value, high-end equipment.
It isn't so much what the brand makes, it's what that brand's value proposition is.
In the case of Thiel, it's a real loss to our community when their focus shifts from what made them a remarkable company.
The loss is ours.
